Celebrate Burns Night with the new Norfolk whisky haggis sausage

Rutlands Butchers in Melton Constable are launching a Norfolk Haggis sausage made with English Whiskey, to raise money for the EACH charity - James Rutland with the Norfolk Haggis Sausage. Picture: Matthew Usher.

Rutlands Butchers in Melton Constable are launching a Norfolk Haggis sausage made with English Whiskey, to raise money for the EACH charity - The Norfolk Haggis Sausage, with from left, Craig Hagon, Marion Rutland, James Rutland, Carol Newman and Tracy Sturman. Picture: Matthew Usher.

Now the county can boast a new and unusual treat to tantalise people’s taste buds.

The Luxury Homemade Norfolk Haggis and Norfolk Whisky Sausage has been created by butcher James Rutland, of M & M Rutland family butchers in Melton Constable, near Fakenham.

Mr Rutland has used whisky from the English Whisky Company, based in Roudham, near Thetford and has made the sausages to celebrate Burns Night next Friday.

The sausages are now available from Rutland butchers and will continue to be sold permanently.

For every pound of sausages sold Rutland will donate £1 to the East Anglian Children’s Hospice (EACH) at Quidenham.

Mr Rutland said: “We make loads of haggis anyway for Burns Night and send it all over Norfolk, to France and up in Scotland as well.

“This year I thought I’d do something different for a bit of fun and to raise money for a good cause, so came up with the whisky haggis sausages.

“The whisky from The English Whisky Company at Roudham is superb and I’ve used free range local ingredients.

The sausage has a real Norfolk feel to it.

“Some people worry about eating haggis but there is nothing horrible in these sausages. There is no heart or lungs in there.”

Next Friday, during the daytime of Burns Night, bagpipe player James Jagger, from Wells, will perform at Rutland butchers.

The butchers will also have haggis tastings as part of the celebrations.

Rutland butchers, a multi-award winner in the EDP Norfolk Food and Drink Awards, has been selling haggis to Scotland for about 15 years.

Mr Rutland said: “You could say us selling haggis to Scotland is a bit like someone selling coal to Newcastle but our haggis is very popular up there.

“I think a lot of English people living in Scotland like to tease their Scottish friends by feeding them our haggis without telling them where it’s from.

“The Scottish guys say how much they like it, then after being told its from England, start coughing and spluttering.

“Haggis is becoming very popular in Norfolk at the moment as well.”

The Rutlands sell about 50 different types of sausage and are cooking up something of a reputation for making novelty bangers.

They have previously made a Norfolk Hero sausage for Trafalgar Day in honour of Lord Nelson for Help for Heroes, and the Royal Wedding was celebrated with a tongue-in-cheek Bloody Mary variety flavoured with vodka, Tabasco sauce and tomatoes.